One of my main tasks for my longterm client ESP Guitars, whom we’ve served since 2004, is to make the best use of their extensive artist relations roster. In the world of musical instruments — and especially for guitars — the way a manufacturer makes use of their high-profile customers can be a make or break proposition. The key is to maintain a balance between serving the needs of the artist (usually things like making sure they have access to working instruments while on tour and so on) versus making sure that the company is able to benefit from the artist’s connection.

At JKC, we’ve been doing artist interviews designed to promote music and audio products since 1993. We’ve been fortunate enough to interview artists of all levels, from impressive beginners through seasoned, world-renowned players, engineers, and producers. A good artist interview needs to stay focused on the instruments being promoted, but also needs to touch on more general topics that could be of interest on a widespread basis (even beyond the musician world). This not only makes for more interesting articles, but helps increase the searchability of these articles for our clients.

I enjoyed doing this recent interview with Bob Vigna of death metal band Immolation. One thing I try and do is show how the more successful players tend to have a broader range of tastes and influences than just the style for which they’re known. While it’s crucial to impart information about the products and/or services an artist is endorsing, having statements that might surprise even longterm fans is what will more likely cause the article to be read and shared, especially when combined with social media actions.